Mexican Casserole

yes, it's unbaked.

Mexican Casserole! First time making this. I got the recipe from Cooking On Clover Lane. It is extra tasty. Just take it easy on the sour cream. Then it'll be perfect.

1 pound lean ground beef
2 cups salsa 

1 16oz can chili beans, drained
3 cups tortilla chips, crushed
2 cups sour cream [I personally thought this was way too much. Maybe 1 cup? Eyeball it and see.]
1/2 cup chopped green onion
1/2 cup chopped fresh tomato
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 350.
In a large skillet, brown beef. Stir in salsa, reduce heat, simmer until liquid is absorbed (about 10 minutes depending on how thick your salsa is.) Stir in beans, and heat through.
Spray a 9 x 13 baking pan with cooking spray. Spread crushed chips in a layer on bottom and then add ground beef mixture. Spread sour cream on top. Top with onion, tomato, cilantro and cheese.
Bake for 30 minutes or until bubbly.

April Fools Dinner

I love to do something fun for any holiday. I remembered seeing these a few years ago in Family Fun. So, I decided to try it last night.

For the "cupcakes" just use your favorite meatloaf recipe and fill foil baking cups 2/3 full. (It needs to be foil because of the grease.) Cook at 375 degrees for about 15 minutes. Make mashed potatoes and then add whatever food color you desire. (There is fighting at our house unless the color is gender neutral.)

For the grilled cheese I used a loaf of angel food cake and toasted it then added orange buttercream frosting (3 cups powdered sugar, 1/3 c. butter and about 1 Tbs of milk) I made. It was a fun meal. We did have broccoli for the veggie but it didn't fit the theme.

Stromboli

This is sorta like Jenny's Stuffed Bread. Only I use pizza/pasta sauce, ground beef (I actually used ground bison), and lots of mozzarella cheese. Just use your favorite yeast bread recipe and spread on the pasta sauce, then the ground beef, then the cheese. Fold up the ends and roll it up. When it's done I brush on melted butter and sprinkle McCormick's Salad Supreme seasoning on it. Gosh, I like that seasoning! You could just use anything though, I think. Italian seasoning, garlic powder, or just leave it plain on top. Bake on a greased baking sheet at 375 F for about 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.

If you want a dough recipe, here's one I used last night. Not sophisticated... I didn't have a lot of time.

4 cups flour

2 T instant yeast

1 1/2 tsp. salt

about 2 cups of warm-hot water

Just mix the flour, salt, and yeast together and then pour just enough warm-hot water into your mixer until the dough is not longer sticky, but smooth and elastic. Knead for a few minutes then let rise in a warm place for 30 minutes.

Mexican Lasagna

A favorite. We brought it to some friends after they had their baby, and they said they loved it too. Recipe comes from Brian's Mom, Jill.

Ingredients:
corn tortillas (about 12)
1 lb. ground beef, browned
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp each: cumin, oregano, garlic powder, chili powder, cayenne, onion powder
1 16 oz. can diced tomatoes
1 cup salsa
2 8 oz cans plain tomato sauce
16 oz. container cottage cheese
2 c. mozzarella
2 eggs

Directions:
Brown beef. Add salt, spices, tomatoes, salsa, tomato sauce, and warm. In separate bowl mix cottage cheese, mozzarella, and eggs. Put half meat sauce in baking dish. Top with a layer of tortillas. Top with half the cheese mix. Repeat.

Bake 350 for 1 hour. Serves 8-10.

Lasagna

I am sure everyone knows how to make lasagna. I made this a couple of nights ago. It was pretty good. I shouldn't have put the noodles on top. So much for actually following the recipe.

(We went out last night because it was that kind of a day and tonight is a party. I wanted to post since our internet went down and we are just now getting back online.)

Cheese Fries Casserole

This was a super easy recipe and was well received by half of my family. (Two don't like potatoes or rice.) I forgot to take a photo before I served it up. I also modified the original recipe.

Recipe:

1 pound ground turkey

1 T. minced dried onion

2 cans (reduced fat cream) of mushroom soup

1/2 c. monterey jack cheese

2 c. frozen crinkle cut fries

1 T. ranch seasoning

Brown the meat with minced onion, salt and pepper. Drain. Mix in soups and cheese and heat through. Put in a greased casserole dish. Top with the fries and sprinkle with the seasoning. Bake in the oven at 350 degrees for 50-55 minutes.

(The original recipe called for 1 can cheddar soup which I couldn't find, so I did 2 of the mushroom and added cheese instead. It called for 2 pounds of ground beef. I don't use a lot of red meat. Also, I try to use less meat than a recipe calls for because it always seems like there is too much in it to me. I added the ranch seasoning to give the fries some flavor. I couldn't find my Season All.)

Porcupines & Baby carrots

Here's what we had tonight:


This is a dish that comes from Brian's family. They call them "porcupines." It took maybe 10 minutes prep time and 1 hour bake time. Recipe:

1. In a bowl combine:
1 pound ground beef
1/2 cup uncooked rice
1 tsp salt
1 T minced dried onion
1 tsp chili powder

2. Shape ground beef and rice mixture into balls and place in a baking dish.

3. In another bowl combine:
1 T Worcestershire sauce
1 can tomato soup
1/2 can water

4. Pour sauce on top of meatballs.

5. Bake 350 deg for 1 hour.
Pretty tasty! And Cameron liked it too.